1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to an apparatus for stool sample collection and particularly to a stool sample collection device of simple construction that is flushable in the toilet along with domestic liquid waste.
2. Description of the Related Art
Medical service providers often require a patent to supply a stool sample for purposes of diagnosing the patient's medical condition. Usually, the patient herself must obtain the stool sample, typically by evacuating their bowels onto a device for collecting the sample. A number of such devices attach to a conventional toilet, hanging within the toilet below the patient's posterior and collecting stools from the patient as she defecates. Exemplary of such devices is that by Slover et al. (U.S. Pat. No. 4,445,235), which comprises a substantially impervious receptacle with a pair of side straps having an adhesive portion for contact adhesion to the top surface of a conventional toilet seat, the container being suspended below the toilet seat and above the surface of the water in the toilet, positioned to catch and retain a fecal specimen.
Because of the dimensions and position of the Slover device, a patient using the device must preferably use restraint in discharge of urine while defecating in order to avoid contaminating the stool sample and/or weakening the material comprising the device. A patient in a weakened medical condition may often find exercising such restraint difficult if not impossible.
While it is claimed that such devices may be flushed in the toilet when the sample has been taken, Slover's device is fabricated of a flexible water-resistant paper with an internal fiber reinforcement web. Experience has shown that, in fact, devices fabricated of such materials are not readily disposable in most domestic toilets and, while they occasionally flush, they often cause sewage plugging and backups in actual use. Further, the adhesive pads of the Slover device are often difficult to peel off the toilet sides after use and, even if the material comprising the device as a whole might otherwise flush down the toilet, the adhesive pads can inadvertently adhere to the inner passageways of the toilet itself or to sewer pipes connected to the toilet, thereby clogging the toilet or sewer pipes.
Another such device is described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,463,782 to Carlson. Carlson's device is comprised of a single sheet of foldable material with at least three extensions and a cupping section formed at the intersection of the extensions. As with the device of Slover et al., Carlson's device is held in place by adhesive tabs adhering to the toilet rim at the ends of the device's extensions. Carlson states that his device is fabricated of light-weight, disposable sheet material such as tissue paper, fabrics or plastic. While some such devices are characterized as disposable or biodegradable, Carlson neither describes nor anticipates material that is actually generally flushable in a domestic toilet. Accordingly, Carlson's device has some of the same shortcomings as that of Slover: adhesive elements that are difficult to remove from the toilet after use and unsuitability for reliable disposal by flushing. While the Carlson device has a cupping section for restraining the specimen from inadvertently sliding off the device prior to the patient's obtaining a sample, the additional complexity of fabrication required to create the cupping section for Carlson's device is a drawback to this feature.
The related art contains many examples of disposable devices for feces collection that, like those of Slover et al. and Carlson, are comprised of paper collectors fabricated in some way to catch and retain feces samples. Many of these devices are of complex configurations difficult to manufacture. A number of these devices require the user to refrain from urination during use of the device. All of these devices require either adhesive or mechanical means of fixation on the toilet for use. And, while a domestic toilet may occasionally accommodate the disposal of some of these devices, none of the prior art devices are truly flushable by design.
What is needed is a device for collection of feces samples that is very simple in design for ease of manufacture. What is needed further is a device that may be releasably fixed to a toilet during use without the need for adhesives or mechanical fixation. What is needed further in such a device is a configuration allowing a user of either gender to urinate while defecating. What is needed yet further is such a device that is reliably flushable in a standard domestic toilet.